Earth Dreams: A Summer Party for Grief & Love

The Bentway

An Eco Dance Party Under the Gardiner

July 8, 2023 | 8pm to late
The Bentway, Toronto

Artist studio Nocturnal Medicine, known for their recent “Rave for Climate Grief” in New York, present a free late-night party at The Bentway on July 8. Featuring music and dancing with local DJs Tender Buttons and Me Time, and poetry readings by Elder Dr. Duke Redbird.

An urban gathering for a city facing climate change, Earth Dreams invites Toronto to confront the painful truths of our planetary health crisis, to explore where progress lies, and to celebrate emergent possibilities for the future of Earth.

Designed as a party with a meditative journey, this event will encompass collective solidarity, dancing, and moments of contemplation, all drawing from the cultural and ecological histories and futures of The Bentway. This event aims to catalyze our collective grief and joy as channels towards deeper love, accountability, and connection to our environment and to each other.

Tickets are free!
Get free tickets here

Photo by Jess Baumung

EVENT OVERVIEW

The event program is designed as a continuous experience, and we encourage you to join from the beginning. It’s a 6-hour ecstatic journey towards catharsis, release, and regeneration.

8:00pm: Program opens with ambient set by Tender Buttons.
8:45pm: Nocturnal Medicine leads a Sound Bath and Guided Journey through the cultural and ecological histories of The Bentway.
9:15pm: Dr. Duke Redbird, Elder of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, performs his poem, “Mother Earth is an Altar.”
9:30pm – 1:30am: DJ Sets by Tender Buttons and Me Time. Throughout the evening Elder Dr. Duke Redbird will read additional poems.
1:30am: Nocturnal Medicine leads Closing Rites, inviting participants into the ritual takedown of the space.
2:00am: Event ends.

Get free tickets here

A previous Nocturnal Medicine event. Photo by Michelle Shofet.

About The Bentway

The Bentway works to ignite the urban imagination, using the city as site, subject, and canvas.

Anchored under Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway and guiding its complex future, The Bentway is a growing public space, and much more. The Bentway is a new type of civic organization: a not-for-profit, powered by vital partnerships with the City of Toronto, residents, supporters, artists, city-builders, and dreamers. The Bentway is a catalyst rooted in experimentation, leading a creative movement to re-imagine the opportunities of urban spaces.